NRG plans canal plant expansion

By C. Ryan Barberrbarber@capecodonline.com

Thursday

Jul 16, 2015 at 6:17 AMJul 16, 2015 at 6:40 AM

SANDWICH — The owner of the power plant located on the Cape Cod Canal plans to install a 1.5-megawatt solar field and a new 330-megawatt natural gas-fired turbine on the property as part of an effort to modernize the nearly half-century-old facility.

NRG Energy Canal Generating Plant aims to complete the solar project by the fall of 2016 and build a state-of-the-art turbine capable of starting in 10 minutes and running on either natural gas or oil, NRG spokesman David Gaier said during an interview at the plant on Wednesday. If it makes it through the permitting process the project would be a boon for the town of Sandwich, which relies heavily on tax revenue from the plant's owner, revenue that has dropped off as the plant has aged.

The plant is the town's largest taxayer, forking over $1.75 million in the current year, Town Manager George “Bud” Dunham said. But tax revenue from NRG is expected to at least double once the planned construction is completed, according to Gaier and Thomas Atkins, a senior director of generation development at NRG.

“The value of a repowering project dwarfs anything else we could do in town,” Dunham said. “We were hoping this day was coming.”

Like the plant's two existing power generating units, which were built in 1967 and 1976, the third would operate only sparingly, typically coming on at exceptionally hot or cold times depending on the needs of the region's electrical grid, Atkins said. After two years of permitting and another two years of construction, it would provide additional capacity for Southeastern Massachusetts equal to the entire electricity load required on Cape Cod, he said.

“We've had some major cold winters,” Atkins said. “The last couple winters have been pretty harsh. And New England and Southeastern Massachusetts — and the Cape in particular — are quite constrained for natural gas supply.”

On a particularly cold day when demand is at its highest, the third unit will be able to switch over to liquid fuel rather than competing with homeowners for natural gas, Atkins said.

“This plant can run regardless of what happens with natural gas in the cold winter,” he said.

Atkins said the unit will include a 210-foot exhaust stack. From the Stop & Shop parking lot on Route 6A, the stack will be mostly obstructed by trees and dwarfed by the 500-foot existing stack.

“We designed the plant specifically to be unobtrusive to the maximum extent possible,” he said.

Unlike the two existing units — which both need 12 hours to start — the so-called "quick-start" natural gas-fired turbine could be depended upon as a backup to renewable energy sources such as solar panels and wind turbines, which rely on favorable weather conditions. With a start-up time of 10 minutes, the new unit could be called on when cloud cover or calm conditions limit electrical output from renewable sources, Atkins said.

“Because it can start in 10 minutes, it actually supports additional renewable power on the grid,” he said.

Electrical output from the solar project on NRG's property would be credited to homeowners and businesses that enter into power-purchase agreements with the company, Gaier said.

On Wednesday, Charles Kleekamp, a Sandwich resident and vocal proponent of natural gas and renewable energy, welcomed the construction planned for the canal plant. Kleekamp, who served as vice president of Cape Clean Air and president of Clean Power Now, described the fast-start unit as the “only reasonable partner to dance with, so to speak.”

“It can fill the gap when the clouds come over the sun and the solar panels diminish generating power fairly quickly,” Kleekamp said. “They are dependent upon the wind and the sun for operation. So the only way to backfill is, I believe, to use the cleanest burning fossil fuel we have, which is natural gas.”

The project will require approvals from the town, the Cape Cod Commission and state agencies, including the Energy Facilities Siting Board, which is responsible for ensuring a reliable energy supply in the state with the minimum environmental impact at the lowest possible cost.

“You've got to have more and more fast-start backup in the future,” Kleekamp said. “I would call it the beginning of the future for renewable energy.”

— Follow C. Ryan Barber on Twitter: @cryanbarber.

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